Authors in Bloom Blog Hop

I love growing tomatoes. My favorites are the yellow pear tomato. They’re a variation on the cherry tomato, and are considered a heritage plant.

My favorite gardening tip: To save your favorite tomato for the next years planting, squeeze out some of the seeds onto a clean napkin or paper towel and spread it out. Wait until dry, then store in a sealed container or Ziplock bag. When you’re ready to plant in either a peat pot, or into potting soil, simply tear out a seed or two (paper towel included) and plant. Done. Now water and wait.

And while you’re waiting, here’s some lovely almond blooms from around the house where I live. I bought a new camera on Cyber Sunday and waited until early spring, so I could take these photos. 🙂

Here’s something to help heat up your springtime.

Blurb: Team Alpha Three’s spaceship is out of power after fighting a wormhole, and parked on the primitive world of Zenevieva. With half the team sick from radiation poisoning, the team commander entrust geologist, Maya Gladstone, to find enough matrix crystals to power up their spacecraft, so they can go home to Earth.Vach Namaste of the powerful Clan Namaste, a native of the planet, has desired the lovely Maya since she stepped off the spaceship on that astonishing day a year ago. He’s hounded her every step since. As Hymeneal Night approaches, he makes plans to take her as his bride… willing or not.

~*~

Excerpt: As promised, Maya bought another cheap tote so she wouldn’t damage her prize. Then she worked her way through the bazaar, buying supplies for the next day’s trip. As she went from tent to tent, hunting down the few veggies, fruit and other types of food that she could digest, she caught glimpses of the Zeeman following her. She tensed. What does he want with me?

.

She stalked completely round one of the tents to come face to face with him. Now’s my chance. “Why are you following me?”

.

“What? I don’t know what you mean.” He took a step back.

.

Maya grabbed a fistful of his dark brown robes. “Yes, you do. You’ve been dogging my steps from the moment I set foot on your planet.” She suddenly noticed that the young man was bigger than she’d thought. His chest was deep and his shoulders broad. His arms were larger than Bobby’s and he worked out. And here I am, holding him by his clothes.

.

He stared at her hand. “I like you and want to get to know you. If you were one of my people, I would woo you.”

.

She realized his robe wasn’t made from the rough, homespun fabric used by the common Zeeman. Is he a clan lord? Maya loosened her grip on the silky material. “Who are you?”

.

He moved back and swept his arm down in an elaborate bow. “My name is Vach Namaste of the Namaste clan. It would please me if you remembered it.”

With a flutter of his robes, he hurried away, weaving through the crowd. It wasn’t until he had disappeared that Maya realized that he’d been speaking to her in English.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Vach finally reached the edge of the bazaar, where he had tied up his steed. He patted its thick neck. “Hey, Brawley.”

.

His mount woke up with a snort, then lipped at his hand, demanding a treat. It was still standing in the same place that he left it and no one had bothered it. No one would dare touch a sherakey, not even this sleepy fellow. Reaching into a pouch, Vach dug out a sweet lump for his mount. Giving him the treat, Vach turned to see if the human female had followed.

.

She hadn’t.

.

He felt disappointed. But she wasn’t of his race and didn’t understand the proper way to act. If she wanted him to woo her, she should have followed him. If she didn’t, then she should have knocked him on his well-bred butt, just like the human guard had suggested.

.

Vach had wanted this human female since he saw her step out of the spaceship on that astonishing day a year ago. Her blue eyes drew him closer. Her long, red hair made him want to run his fingers through it. Her curves sent flames of desire flickering through his body. He’d taken to coming into town regularly to stroll by the compound, just to see if she would be there. Today had been one of those rare good days when she was there to follow. He learned a little more about her each time.

.

Now he knew she wanted to find something. If he knew what it was, maybe he could find it for her.

.

Climbing up on the saddle, Vach clicked his tongue and his mount started down the dusty road toward the Namaste bachelor compound. He contemplated his plan for Hymeneal Night. Vach already knew from eavesdropping at the map seller’s tent that Maya would be out on the desert, all alone.

Matrix Crystal Christmas is made up of two short stories (one erotic and one sweet) for the fans of my novel, Matrix Crystal Hunters, who told me that they wanted to know what happened next.

In Crystal Flower Christmas: Vach and Maya are on a mission to undam the Laonooco River for the drought stricken region. As heartache fractures their marriage, will the gift of a crystal flower mend their relationship or break it beyond repair?

In Crystal Clear Christmas: Plague has struck the village of Zama and the citizens blame the only human left on Zenevieva, Maya. Will Vach make the ultimate sacrifice to save his wife?

“Giveaway ends April 16th at 11:59 PM EST. Open to Legal Residents (18 years of age or older) of the US only. Prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes. Winner will be selected by Rafflecotper.com and be notified by email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Please note that Dianne Venetta, host of the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop, is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. I have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you in obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you. The product provided for the review was free of charge from the company. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.” VOID where prohibited by law.

***For Janice Seagraves’s contest***

***Leave a comment about what you like about spring or gardening along with your email addy***

Contest rules: The prize is an Amethyst Crystal necklace or if you live outside of the US a five dollar or similar amount in the winners country’s currency in a gift certificate to Amazon. The prize is valued at no more than five $5.00 USA dollars.

Contest starts April 7th and ends April 16, 2014. If no one claims the prize within Forty-eight hours of being notified, then another winner will be selected. No one under the age of eighteen need apply.

***Winners are those who leave the best comment in the comment section and leave an email address***

By entering your email in the comment section, you are agreeing to the Official Rules and stating that you are older than eighteen (18).

I didn’t know you could store the seeds for growing like that. I love tomatoes, fresh and warm off the vine. The vines itself make me itch. I can’t be around them too much. Sometimes the tomato plants get too big and they fall over. We use cages but the tomatoes are still too big. Then I have to touch the plant and I’m running in the house, rushing to the sink. 🙂

I’m sorry to hear that. I love tomatoes. I use cages too to keep the vines upright.
I’m allergic to summer squash vines: Zucchini & Yellow Crookneck. I can eat them just fine, but it’s when I’d hunt around for the squash, I’d brush my arms against the vines and get a rash.

Love your post and I am another fellow gardener. I save my seeds every year. Once I get a vegetable I love I must have it again. I also love your excerpts, but I am a big fan already of your work.
Lynda

I don’t love tomatoes a lot. They look great, but somehow I don’t enjoy eating them. But whenever one talks of gardening I remember my childhood days…I used to help my grandma in her hobby of vegetable gardening. I miss those good old days of my life. i know everyone does. 🙂

I’ve got a stack of cherry and globe tomato seedlings coming up at the moment. When they get a little larger, I’ll separate them. You may have seen my post in my FB the other day…I even have tomato plants growing in my guttering…with loads of cheery cherry toms on them! One of my neighbours gave me a whole lot of their homegrown cherry toms the other day…so I’ve been feasting on those. And my landlords have plants everywhere…I live on the same block of land (3 acres) that they do…I might have to do a couple of midnight raids until my own plants are ready! 😉

That’s a great tip! I love growing cherry tomatoes. They seem to do better in my yard than regular tomatoes. Love your pictures of almond blossoms. We have two trees that were sold to us as almonds, but the fruit they give looks more like a yellow peach. Not sure if that’s normal or not. LOL! But they sure are pretty in the spring.
cchant86 @ yahoo.com

How I wish I had a green thumb. I love tomatoes and after reading your post I am definitely going to try this. I always imagined it to be too involved but this is great. Thanks Janice for sharing the tip. Love your pics because they are really beautiful. I love Spring because it brings such a happy vibe. Bird song, the smells of all those glorious flowers and the warmer weather. What isn’t to love about Spring. 🙂
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

Thank you. 🙂 I love spring too, and taking photos. I live in the middle of an almond orchard and take photos of the blooms every year.

Tomatoes are easy and the best plant to start with. They’re talerant of many soil conditions. They just need good soil, six hours of sunlight and water. And then they’ll grow like mad. When I first moved into my current house, I didn’t do anything fancy. I dug a trench, mixed in some soil admindents and started planting. As my tomatoes grew, I tied them to the fence and had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with, LOL.

Love your gardening tip. And if I had a green (rather than brown) thumb, I would try it. But, plants are in danger in my presence. So I’ll stick to buying those little gourmet tomato medleys from the grocery store. I do patronize farmer’s markets in the summer and love it when I find those beautiful heirloom tomatoes….so good!

I love the warmer weather and longer daylight hours. Since I like to cook and can our produce, my vegetable garden inspires quite a few of our meals in the summer. Nothing can beat having fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic!sienkiel1821@yahoo.com

Sun-warmed tomatoes from the garden? Heavenly. Great idea for saving seeds. Thanks. YOu books look kind of fun, in a steamy sort of way. Like Ann McCaffrey for adults. 🙂 Thanks for being part of the hop.npi-sunyer@comcast.net

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Year of the Cat (Paranormal/humor)

Haunted by the loss of his parents, werecat Jared Catterick earns his keep working for the Catclaw Clan. Jared has secrets that he doesn’t mind sharing with a special lady, and he hopes Morgan is that special someone. When his past and present collide it’s worse than he imagined, and he’s forced to fight for his life.

The Arcons build three colony ship to take them off their dying world. Only the chosen can come, the rest take their chances with the lottery. But one family cheats.

Alien Heart (Book 1 in the Chronicles of Arcon) (Sci-Fi Romance)

After a wonderful night of passion, Audrey finds herself far from home, impregnated and her life turned upside down.
Will she ever be able to leave the alien compound, see her son again, or get home in time to film the fall season of her Miz Fixit show?
But what's a girl to do with two aliens that smell like candy, and their kisses taste like it, too?

Matrix Crystal Hunters (Sci-Fi Romance)

Vach Namaste of the powerful Clan Namaste, a native of the planet, has desire the lovely Maya since she stepped off the spaceship on that astonishing day a year ago. He’s hounded her every step since. As Hymeneal Night approaches, he makes plans to take her as his bride… willing or not.

Matrix Crystal Christmas (Sci-Fi Romance)

In Crystal Flower Christmas: Vach and Maya are on a mission to undam the Laonooco River for the drought stricken region. As heartache fractures their marriage, will the gift of a crystal flower mend their relationship or break it beyond repair?
In Crystal Clear Christmas: Plague has struck the village of Zama and the citizens blame the only human left on Zenevieva, Maya. Will Vach make the ultimate sacrifice to save his wife?

Matrix Crystal River (Sci-Fi Romance)

After twenty-five years, the Earthlings were back. River Namaste swears he'll never help the humans find matrix crystals, until he meets, Winona Miracle, Team Alpha Six's geologist. Shy and vulnerable, the black haired, dark eyed beauty is all he wants.
But is she ready to put aside her goals for him?

Matrix Crystal Rebels (Sci-fi Romance)

Earth geologist Steen’s mission is to look and act like a Zeeman so he can locate matrix crystals. But when Steen’s deception fails, the beautiful Rain Namaste coaches him. He doesn’t realize he’s fallen in love with the lovely redhead until someone tries to claim her on Hymeneal Night.
Steen will do anything to get Rain back, but is he willing to take her as a Hymeneal bride for himself?

Windswept Shores (Contemporary Romance/Suspense)

Two strangers wash up on the same windswept shores. Will they survive and can they fall in love?

Windswept Shores Two (Contemporary Romance/Suspense)

Megan and Seth are finally rescued off their little island, but things are far from idyllic. Seth is arrested for murder, and Megan is order to return home to her philandering husband who is somehow still alive. Will they ever get back together again or see the life they envisioned?